How Co-Working Spaces Can Improve Company Culture for Remote Companies
The remote work revolution has reshaped how we connect, collaborate, and build culture. For many companies, it's been a game changer in flexibility but also a growing pain in terms of human connection. At Umuzi, we've seen firsthand that even the most talented teams still crave what online calls can't fully deliver; a sense of belonging, organic connection and shared space. To create a new rhythm for how we show up as a remote team, our partnership with Workshop17 added this value. When companies went fully remote during the Covid-19 pandemic, many quietly assumed culture would translate into Slack channels, Friday online quizzes, and weekly check-ins. But the truth is, culture doesn't scale without intention, especially when your team is distributed.
Culture needs anchors and real spaces where people can plug in and feel part of something bigger than their task list. Earlier this year, we had to be honest about where we were falling short. Like many remote organisations, we discovered that despite our best digital efforts, something was missing. The energy, the casual conversations that spark innovation, the shared moments that build trust, these weren't translating through screens. We realised that being intentional about culture meant being intentional about creating spaces for genuine human connection.This is where partnerships with co-working spaces come in handy. They don't just offer hot desks and high-speed Wi-Fi, they offer what remote teams often lose - spontaneous collaboration, visual cues of shared mission and physical rituals that shape identity. Research consistently shows the "HOW" behind this need. Studies from MIT's Senseable City Lab demonstrate the power of physical proximity in workplace collaboration. A comprehensive study examining over 40,000 published papers and 2,350 patents from MIT found that "researchers located in the same workspace are more than three times as likely to collaborate compared to those who are 400 meters apart."[1]The research confirms what's known as the Allen Curve, showing that even basic conversations become much less likely among workers situated more than 10 meters apart. The MIT study further revealed that "physical space seems to be more defining for patent teams" and found "a persistent relationship between physical proximity and intensity of collaboration" across both academic papers and innovation patents.
We've seen this play out in tangible ways and when our team members work from co-working spaces, they don't just get work done, they experience what one team member described as "collision moments." The impromptu conversation with someone from another industry at the coffee station. The overheard discussion about a challenge that sparks a solution to their own project. The simple act of working alongside others who are also building something meaningful. Culture isn't soft, it's a strategy.
When teams feel disconnected, the impact shows up in ways that hurt:
Miscommunication
Lack of ownership
Low engagement
Missed innovation opportunities
This is why investing in in-person connections became a key priority in how we rebuild Umuzi's remote culture. Through our partnership with Workshop17, our teams across multiple locations now have access to beautifully designed co-working spaces. From our Johannesburg and Cape Town hubs to our team members in KZN utilizing spaces in Ballito, our Workshop17 Mauritius team tapping into local offices, and our Kenya team accessing Kofisi-branded locations, we've created a global network of spaces that support our distributed culture.
These spaces offer:
Deep focus environments
In-person connection for strategic work, brainstorms, or catch-ups
Community events that expose our team to diverse professionals and ideas
A much needed change of scenery for mental clarity and energy
It's flexible, it's intentional and most importantly, it reflects our belief that people perform better when they feel better. Real connection still matters. Culture doesn't happen by accident, it happens by design and sometimes it needs four walls, a good coffee machine, and a space that reminds you that you belong.Let's work meaningfully.
Here's to building cultures that thrive in the cloud and on the ground.
References: 1. Claudel, M., Massaro, E., Santi, P., Murray, F., & Ratti, C. (2017). An exploration of collaborative scientific production at MIT through spatial organization and institutional affiliation.
https://news.mit.edu/2017/proximity-boosts-collaboration-mit-campus-0710